Lala Hiyama
Lala Hiyama (ヒ山 ララァ Hiyama Rarā) is a human who wears a bear-like life support suit to sustain herself. She's part of the original Immortal Ship Committee, former Garde pilot, and best friend to former ace pilot Hiroki Saitou; she left the committee after Hiroki had a fall out with them. Lala is now the "dorm mother" to Sidonia's cadets; due to her bond with Hiroki, she took a personal interest in looking after Nagate Tanikaze. Character & Personality Hiyama is very rational and kind. She always makes sure Nagate has something to eat, she cleans his room, and talks to him often. She happily feeds and cleans for all the cadets on Sidonia without complaining, and assumedly talks to most of them every day. However, the one consistent way to get under her skin is to call her by her first name, Lala. She would only let Hiroki and Nagate (who to her are the same person) call her Lala. When Izana tells Nagate to call Hiyama by her first name, Hiyama roars angrily and dangles Izana off a balcony with one arm. However, she has never hurt or killed anyone (since she last saw Hiroki). Skills & Abilities Veteran Pilot Hiyama is one of the oldest Garde pilots in existence and was skilled enough to survive the Fourth Gauna War. However, she has not flown a garde in some time and now is content to take care of the Cadets in her building. Strength Whether she is just strong or if her abilities are enhanced by her life support suit, Hiyama is strong as a bear. When Hiroki stole his clone and was pinned down by security forces, she grabbed a fallen security officer and easily hurled him like a log, knocking down the snipers. She then held off the remaining officers while Hiroki fled with the clone that would become Nagate. Immortal Hiyama's bear suit keeps her alive and has allowed her to live for 600 years. Image & Appearance Whether in her Garde pilot suit or her dorm mother outfit, Hiyama has always appeared as a great bear. She stands much talller than anyone else on Sidonia. Her right "paw" is replaced by a fully functional robotic hand. She says it's never gotten in the way of her work. As a dorm mother, she wears an apron and simple habit. Her Garde pilot suit is modded to allow her bear-sized body to fit. She also seems to have some black formal wear for celebrations or more somber events. History Early Days Hiyama and Kobayashi are the only two veteran Garde pilots left since the Fourth Gauna War. She fought Gauna alongside Kobayashi and Hiroki Saitou, and together they discovered the Kabi material in the Artifact. Then when Hiroki began to age and stole the Hiroki clone, she defended him. She then became the dorm mother of the house where Nagate and the other pilots live. Minding Nagate Being the dorm mother Hiyama takes care of the residents but, in particular, Nagate. This is probably because to her, he is just like his "grandfather" Hiroki, her best friend when he was still alive. Relationships Being a dorm mother Hiyama does not interact with many people outside her building, but in her past, she's interacted with many people. Hiroki Saitou Hiroki was for a long time Hiyama's best friend and comrade until Hiroki disappeared with his infant clone. They fought the Gauna together; they are both some of the few survivors of the last time a Gauna breached Sidonia. She looks at Nagate and sees Hiroki (literally). Hiroki was the one person she would let call her Lala, although she lets Nagate call her that at least once. Nagate Tanikaze Hiyama takes care of Nagate, whether he's hungry or when he mourns Hoshijiro. She brings Nagate good food or tells him where he can find some. When he locked himself in his room, she literally just bashed down the door and threw him out so she could clean. She most likely cares for Nagate because in all essence he is the Hiroki she once knew. Kobayashi Despite their long history as pilots and Immortals, the relationship between the Captain and the Dorm Mother is tense. Hiyama often disapproves of Kobayashi's decisions, such as performing the Ressurection Ritual, or constantly deploying Nagate to get him killed. The Captain seems to ignore Hiyama's protests and even mocks her by using her first name. Izana Shinotose Hiyama mostly speaks to Izana in passing, as she does most of the residents, but she knows them all by name. When she becomes sad at the memory of Hiroki, Izana tells Nagate to call her "Lala". Surprisingly, she reacts to this by mistakenly calling Nagate "Hiroki". But as soon as she learns it was Izana's plan, she throws a fit, roars, and smashes something. When Yuhata Midorikawa investigates the noise, she sees Hiyama dangling the crying, apologetic Izana over the balcony. Notes & Trivia *Hiyama's Garde Pilot suit number is 004. *Why she roars when angry is not explained, as the bear appearance is just the design of her life support suit. She may have had a bear roar device built into it. *The "Bear Body Life-Support System" was first utilized in Tsutomu Nihei's previous work Biomega by, Kozlov, a scientist who used it to avoid infection by the NS5 Virus. Interestingly, like Lala, Kozlov also lost one of his bear limbs and replaced it with a prosthetic. *As of recently, Lala is one of the few remaining surviving Council members when Kobayashi had them all assassinated. Fortunately no attempts were ever made on her life. Image Gallery Lala_hiyama.jpg|Lala wearing the Immortal Ship Committee mask. Lala_hiyama_human.jpg|Lala Hiyama in her human form. Hiyama_Saitou_Kobayashi_Ochiai.jpg|From left to right: Hiyama, Saitou, Kobayashi, and Ochiai. GroupPic.PNG|Hiyama, Saitou, Kobayashi and Ochiai. File:Lala the angry bear v3 c14 p33.png|Lala showing Izana, how much of a bear she really is. File:Lala the angry bear s01e08.jpg|The same, but from the anime. Articles & References Links Category:Characters Category:Immortals